Planning permission has been approved to knock down the Redhill Youth Hall and replace it with 50 one and two bed flats.

Reigate and Banstead Borough Council voted in favour of the Redhill development with a unanimous 16 votes to 0, subject to conditions, following a discussion that lasted 41 minutes.

The Marketfield Way site, which sits next to the old Liquid and Envy nightclub, will have a new community space included as part of the deal, however those using the current Redhill Youth Association have already had to find alternative premises.

Among other conditions, permission was granted to the developer Solum Regeneration subject to the company building seven units of affordable housing and a new community facility, including a £200,000 contribution for internal fittings.

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Redhill

The community space is a small victory for the council as it was not part of the original proposal. While the new community centre will be smaller, the developer believes it will meet local requirements due to better furnishing than the current concrete structure.

The new development also includes improved walkways around the train tracks and a resident parking scheme.

The scheme, called “Redhill Forward”, is a joint venture shared by Network Rail and Solum, which owns the land around Redhill station. However, it is not certain when the property will be built as Solum is looking to sell the land to another developer now that it has planning permission attached.

The development from the east, showing the planned Liquid and Envy block to the right (Image: Solum)

This development scheme stands separately to the council’s own multi-million pound regeneration scheme, which has seen the successful installation of facilities around the Warwick Quadrant, like the new Sainsbury’s that opened last autumn.

The council is currently buying out properties on the south side so that regeneration projects can be moved forward, including a larger cinema.

Solum has until June 31 to make the adjustments to its plans before going ahead, should it choose to do so.

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Councillor Natalie Bramhall, for Redhill West, said: “Solum has secured planning permission but it is actively trying to sell it on to someone else with the planning permission, similarly to what happened with the Liquid and Envy site.

“I envisage that someone else will buy it like they did with the Liquid and Envy site and new planning permission will be put through once Solum has sold it on.”

RBBC Councillor Julian Ellicott, for Redhill West, who was on the planning committee, said: “I think it’s a step forward, but I don’t think it’s the ideal scheme that we would like to have seen, particularly as it’s the same applicant as for the main station.

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“They’ve had permission to develop things on the main site where the Redhill parking lot is, and that would be more beneficial to the town because it would provide more retail and parking, but it’s all privately owned in a joint venture with network rail so it’s up to them.